Unrepentant killer driver who fled to Pakistan after mowing down jogger claims he's terminally ill

 A speeding driver who killed a jogger then fled to Pakistan has claimed to be terminally ill and insisted he feels sorry for the victim's distraught family.

Rashid Ali, now 32, was going at twice the 20mph speed limit when his Range Rover Sport struck marketing executive Jack Ryan near London's Battersea Bridge.

Mr Ryan, 29, was out for a run but suffered catastrophic injuries and died at the scene, on the evening of January 13 2021.

Ali failed to attend his Old Bailey trial and was convicted in his absence of causing death by dangerous driving.

He also failed in September 2024 to attend court where he was sentenced to five years in prison – though has since shared social media footage of him enjoying life, including his wedding, in his homeland Pakistan and also Saudi Arabia.

Mr Ryan's family has been left distressed by his killer not facing up to his projected time behind bars – with Ali claiming to be terminally ill with tuberculosis 'and other health issues'. 

The victim's partner Liz Austin has now written in the Daily Mail on Monday about her ongoing trauma following the death – and also how she had his daughter via IVF almost a year after the tragedy, using frozen embryos he consented to be used.

She is campaigning for laws to be changed so that people facing serious criminal charges must surrender their passport – something that did not happen with Ali when on bail, allowing him to travel to Pakistan and not return.

She said: 'There has been zero accountability and he remains on the run.

'There is no formal extradition treaty between the UK and Pakistan – though individual requests are sometimes granted – and as it stands Rashid Ali has got away with it.

'We all went through a great deal of heartache preparing for the trial, only to realise it was essentially pointless.'

She and Mr Ryan's family have set up a 'Justice for Jack' petition, calling for an amendment to the Bail Act to ensure mandatory passport surrender for people accused of serious crimes.

Ms Austin added: 'We need 10,000 signatures before the end of the year for the Government to respond.

'It makes a mockery of the whole expensive, time-consuming legal process if a convicted criminal is able to simply skip the country and avoid serving their sentence.

'I know nothing will bring Jack back but I do want justice for him. And for our daughter.'

Ali was challenged by Channel 4's Dispatches programme broadcast in March this year, after his social media accounts displayed aspects of his life abroad – including his wedding celebrations.

He was interviewed by the programme's Matt Shea at a time he said he was in Saudi Arabia doing the Islamic pilgrimage Umrah.

Ali also claimed to be terminally ill with 'tuberculosis and some other health issues' though insisted he would return to the UK in 2027. 

When asked why he had not yet come back to Britain, Rashid said: 'Yeah, I was terminally ill and still I am.

'Tuberculosis and some other health issues, but I will not disclose to anybody that I don't know yet.'

Having managed to travel from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia yet still not fulfilled his promise to make it to the UK, Ali added: 'I definitely will travel to London, mate, and I've told them I'm coming back in 2027.'

He suggested that authorities were 'happy with that'. 

Rashid added, of Mr Ryan's family: 'I feel sorry for them and I definitely will face justice, mate, yeah. Everyone will see. I will let you enjoy the rest of your day.' 

Ali had been in Britain on a student visa before travelling back to homeland Pakistan.

Mr Ryan's sister Ciara told Dispatches: 'We could have shown forgiveness if he'd taken accountability. There was none of that there.

'I would like Rashid Ali to come back of his own accord. He said he would come back and face consequences if found guilty.

'He was found guilty unanimously. If that's not the case, I would like the government to support us in bringing him back.

'And really I would like it to be the case that people facing serious charges and custodial sentences aren't able to have their passport and then essentially abscond as has been the case for us.

'Having been someone that's never been involved with the justice system before, I had a lot of faith in it in the UK.

'I was a believer in that it worked. It's not working. It hasn’t worked for five years for my family.'

Mr Ryan's family previously criticised the sentence given to Ali in his absence.

In a statement after the 2024 trial, they said: 'The pitiful sentence handed down today to Mr Ali is an insult not only to our family but to all families who experience the trauma of having a loved one's death caused by dangerous driving.